From the inception of Salem’s town plan, a square or central green was intended to focus the community, with institutional buildings including the church, schools, and store placed around it as both a public open space and a significant element in the town’s design. During Salem’s initial construction in 1766, the square was shifted one block north, but two years later it was returned to its original location to meet elevation needs for the town’s gravity-fed water system, completed in 1778. The pump at the southwest corner, originally placed over a cistern, recalls that achievement. Because it was planned as open space, construction on the square has been restricted. In the 1770s, a sundial on a pedestal was installed and a stone Corpse House was built. In 1803, the Market-Fire Engine House was added to give community members a place to buy fresh meat brought by neighboring farmers and to house the town’s firefighting equipment. At first there was only one diagonal walk through the square, and later a crosswalk was added. Fences and gates have been replaced as needed. The present landscape reflects long-standing features of the square, including early evidence of a circle of trees at the center and perimeter plantings of sycamores, lindens, tulip poplars, and catalpas, while a circle of cedars appears in an 1840 painting.